48 hours of work, 10 innovative business ideas – these are the results of TELIA HUB: IoT hackathon organised by Telia. During the competition, which took place in Vilnius Tech Park over the weekend, participants from Lithuania, Belarus and India were developing their business ideas. The winning team –Spot4You has created a prototype of virtual office assistant.

The business idea by Karolis Dargis and Aleksandras Cicasovas from Spot4You – virtual office assistant –can ease the office management processes, such as booking the meeting rooms or ensuring good working conditions in the premises. Potential users of the system can be not only large companies, co-working centre managers, but also cafes, restaurants.

“This hackathon has proved that life-changing business ideas are developed and created by young and creative minds, who have the courage and self-confidence. These are the new-generation ideas, which are worth developing and investing in,” says Kestutis Sliuzas, the CEO of Telia.

Virtual assistant by Spot4You was developed using Telia’s smart internet of things device – IoT 101. This versatile device that tracks location, movement and temperature data in real time, was one of the main tools of the competition.

The winners of Telia hackathon received 1000 EUR cash prize and 3-month membership at TELIA HUB coworking space in Vilnius Tech Park with an opportunity to develop the idea further with the help of Telia experts.

The team R-Nox from Belarus was just behind the winners. They presented an air pollution measurement system. According to the authors of this idea, the system allows to reduce the cost of air pollution measurement by 75 per cent, therefore it is relevant for factories and smart cities developers. The R-Nox system collects information about various chemical elements that affect the environment and provides users with information in real time online.

Another project, which caught interest of the jury, was “Sure Things” – the next generation platform for internet insurance. Main features of this idea are: speed, low price and the possibility to easily receive insurance compensation in case of damage.

"During the event, we were convinced that our country's technology enthusiasts can create great business ideas within 48 hours," says Darius Zakaitis, Managing Director of Vilnius Tech Park. “IT hackathons initiated by corporations, provide mutual benefits for both startups and enterprises, and due to this reason, the number of examples of such collaboration should increase in the future.”

TELIA HUB: IoT hackathon was organised by Telia Lietuva together with Vilnius Tech Park. The main objective of the competition was the development of new business ideas and the field of internet of things. In total, 57 people were present at the competition, among them - citizens from Lithuania, Belarus and India. During the event, eight mentors - Telia Lietuva employees and startup ecosystem representatives – were consulting the teams.